Water is the most important resource on which most of the flora and fauna of our precious planet depend. Some curiosities about water:
✓ The amount of water on Earth is equivalent to 1.5 billion cubic kilometres. If distributed evenly over the Earth’s surface, its depth would be 3,700 metres.
✓ More than 99% of the water on our planet is non-potable – salty or trapped in ice formations, and only about 0.3% of fresh water is available in the surface water.
✓ The Pacific Ocean contains about 50 per cent of the world’s ocean water.
✓ A single drop of ocean water can contain millions of bacteria and viruses. And it could also have fish eggs, baby crabs, plankton or even tiny worms.
✓ A newborn baby is 78 per cent water, while adults are normally 55-60 per cent water.
✓ Human bones contain 31 per cent water.
✓ A person drinks about 1000 litres of water per year.
✓ It takes between 10 000 and 20 000 litres of water to produce 1 kilo of cotton – enough for a T-shirt and a pair of jeans.
✓ Nearly 1 billion people worldwide have limited access to clean water.
✓ A person can survive up to a month without food but without water – only about a week.
✓ Nearly half of the global population suffers from chronic dehydration.
✓ Even mild dehydration slows human metabolism by up to three per cent.
✓ However, excessive water use can lead to water intoxication.
✓ We can say that water is a bit “sticky”. That is why it forms round drops. Water molecules travel up the xylem of the plants from the root to the leaves of the plants by holding onto each other and the inside of the walls.
✓ A camel can drink approximately 130 litres of water in 10 minutes.
✓ Unlike almost any other liquid, water expands when it freezes. Warm water freezes faster than cold water.
✓ Wherever there is water on Earth, even if it is boiling, there is life.
Did you know these 17 interesting facts about water?
